Mechanism for opening and closing doors



Dec. 12 1950 M, B NC 2,533,423

MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS Filed June 17, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l fin. la

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Patented Dec. 12, 1950 MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS Joseph M. Bunch, Ferguson, M0.

Application June 17, 1947, Serial No. 755,117

2 Claims.

This invention relates to means for opening and closing doors by remote control, and more particularly to such means for opening and closing overhead garage doors.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for swinging a garage door so that the top of the door moves horizontally while the bottom moves vertically. While the invention is shown applied to a garage door, it is to be understood that it is equally applicable to other types of doors and also to windows and other closures.

The invention contemplates a horizontal overhead track on which the top portion of the door is carried horizontally, and a counterweight attached to the bottom portion of the door to facilitate the movement thereof. The power means for actuating the door may be hydraulic or electric, and may be positioned adjacent the door or at a remote station.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is understood that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Figure 1 represents a rear elevation of a single garage door equipped with the mechanism of the present invention, the view being taken from inside the structure.

Figure 2 is a sectional View of the garage structure, taken at right angles to the showing of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section similar to Figure 2, but showing the garage door in the process of being raised and opened.

Figure 4 is a vertical section through the overhead track hereinbefore mentioned, taken along the line i4 of Figure 3.

The drawings show a garage or similar structure comprising a ceiling Iii, a floor II, and a front wall l2. A single garage door I3 is complementary with the front wall l2, but it is obvious that two or more doors may be substituted.

A horizontal shaft i5 is mounted in bearings it which are secured to the front wall l2. A horizontal track It runs longitudinally of the structure, at right angles to the front wall 12, and is supported from the ceiling is by means of a series of stringers [9. A front pulley 2| and a rear pulley 22 are also attached to the ceiling l0, and a cable 26, carrying a counterweight 25 at the rear end, is attached at the front end to the bottom of the door i3. The top of the door I3 is hinged to a horizontal arm 2? that forms part of a carriage 28 that is adapted to ride on 2 the track I8. It is obvious, therefore, that if the top of the door I3 is moved horizontally along with the carriage 2B, the bottom of the door 53 rides vertically, the movement of the door 13 being facilitated by the counterweight 25.

The shaft [5 is slightly longer than the door l3. At the ends of the shaft l5 are fixed two arms 30, and the free ends of the arms 3E3 are pivoted to the door l3 by means of two pintles 35 secured to approximately the mid-portion of the door It. The dimensions of the arms 39 are such that when the arms 39 are in a vertical position, as indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the door it will also be vertical, the lower portion of the door l3 abutting the floor H. To aid in the movement of the lower portion of the door iii, an arcuate guide 33 may be fixed to the floor ll slightly back of the closed position of the door 13, so that the door it will be guided properly as it descends.

One type of door control comprises a hydraulic cylinder 45, that contains a plunger ii. The top of the plunger Al is pivoted to one end of a link 32, the other end of which is made fast to one end of the shaft l5, as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. The cylinder iil is pivotally supported on a bracket 33 that is secured to the front Wall l2. Two conduits it and ll lead to the bottom and the top of the hydraulic cylinder 40, respectively, and a valve 38 controls the flow of fluid from a supply line G9 to either one of the conduits it and ii. A motor 5! controls the valve 58. A check valve 52 may lock the valve it in the open or closed position of the door It, as will be more fully described hereinafter. A drain 53 permits escape of undesired fluid from the conduits 86 and ii and from the valve 38. As is obvious, the valve it and accompanying elements may be situated at a point remote from the door it.

In the operation of the device, the motor 5i is energized to permit fluid to pass through the conduit 46 into the bottom of the cylinder 40. The plunger 45 will be actuated upwardly, and the link 42 will turn the shaft 15 clockwise, as indicated in Figure 3 of the drawings. The arm 363 fixed to the shaft [5 will also turn clockwise, and since the bottom of the door [3 is constrained to vertical movement, the top of the door [3 will slide horizontally with the carriage 28. The device is so designed that when the door I3 is fully open, it is either horizontally positioned adjacent the ceiling it, or the bottom of the door 13 is suificiently high to avoid interference with persons or vehicles entering the structure.

3 After the door l3 has assumed its open position, the check valve 52 will automatically lock the door l3 in such positidn.

To close the door IS, the valve 48 is actuated to operate the plunger ll in the opposite direction, whereupon the door it is swung about its pintles 3| to achieve the vertical position shown in Figure 2. Thereupon, the check valve 52 is once more operated to lock the door 13 in closed position.

If desired, an electric motor control may be substituted for the hydraulic cylinder 40 and its associated members. All that is necessary is that the control means actuate the link 42 to rotate the shaft i5 in one direction to open the door and in the opposite direction to close the door. Also, it is not essential that the cable 25 be attached to the bottom end of the door i3. If desired, the cable 2 1 may be attached to a point on the door 13 some distance above the bottom, so that this point will ride vertically, the portion of the door it below this point thereupon constituting a projecting canopy outside the garage wall if when the door it is fully open. Also, the vertically moving portions of the door 13 may be held in guidcways in the door jambs of the front wall I2.

I claim:

1. The combination with a garage including a ceiling, a front wall provided With a door opening, and a door positioned in face to face relation with respect to the door opening, of a raising and lowering mechanism operatively connected to said door, said mechanism comprising a horizontally disposed track positioned in parallel spaced relation with respect to said ceiling adjacent to said front wall and dependingly supported from said ceiling, a carriage mounted in said track for back and forth movement therea-long, a horizontally disposed arm dependingly carried by said carriage and having one end pivotally connected to one end of said door, a horizontally disposed shaft arranged transversely of said track and rotatably supported on the inner face of said front wall adjacent the upper end of the latter, a second arm positioned adjacent one of the sides of said door and having one end pivotally connected to said door intermediate the ends of the latter an having the other end fixedly secured to said shaft, a third arm positioned adjacent the other side of said door and having the other end pivotally connected to said door intermediate the ends of the latter and having the other end fixedly secured to said shaft, a hydraulic cylinder positioned adjacent said door opening and pivotally supported on inner face of said wall, a plunger positioned within said cylinder and mounted therein for back and forth movement, a link having one end pivotally connected to said plunger and having the other end secured to said shaft, a source of fluid pressure operatively connected to said cylinder for causing the up movement of said plunger and simultaneous rotation of said shaft in the direction to effect the raising of said door and for causing the down movement 4 of said plunger and simultaneous rotation of said shaft in the direction to effect the lowering of said door, and a weight movably and dependingly supported from said ceiling and operatively connected to other end of said door for counterbalancing said door.

2. The combination with a garage including a ceiling, a front Wall provided with a door opening, and a door positioned in face to face relation with respect to the door opening, of a raising and lowering mechanism operatively connected to said door, said mechanism comprising a horizontally disposed track positioned in parallel spaced relation with respect to said ceiling adjacent to said front wall and dependingly supported from said ceiling, a carriage mounted in said track for back and forth movement therealong, a horizontally disposed arm dependingly carried by said carriage and having one end pivotally connected to one end of said door, a horizontally disposed shaft arranged transversely of said track and rotatably supported on the inner face of said front wall adjacent the upper end of the latter, a second arm positioned adjacent one of the sides of said door and having one end pivotally connected to said door intermediate the ends of the latter and having the other end fixedly secured to said shaft, a third arm positioned adjacent the other side of said door and having the other end pivotally connected to said door intermediate the ends of the latter and having the other end fixedly secured to said shaft, a hydraulic cylinder positioned adjacent said door opening and pivotally supported on inner face of said wall, a plunger positioned Within said cylinder and mounted therein for back and forth movement, a link having one end pivotally connected to said plunger and having the other end secured to said shaft, a source of fluid pressure operatively connected to said cylinder for causing the up movement of said plunger and simultaneous rotation of said shaft in the direction to effect the raising of said door and for causing the down movement of said plunger and simultaneous rotation of said shaft in the direction to effect the lowering of said door, a weight, a pair of spaced pulleys dependingly supported from said ceiling, and a cable trained over said pulleys and having one end connected to said weight and having the other end connected to the other end of said door for counterbalancing said door.

JOSEPH M. BUNCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 647,671 DeLew Apr. 17, 1900 683,102 Colby et al Sept. 24:, 1901 693,952 Cross Feb. 25, 1902 1,191,697 Hild et al July 18, 1916 1,431,174 Ogden et a1 Oct. 10, 1922 

